Norwalk runs into Regionals

Published 8:00 pm, Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Norwalk Senior Babe Ruth all-star team wasn't swinging the bats with the same type of clout it wielded through the first three games of the state tournament Thursday night.

With just four hits against Stamford West pitchers Ariel Artega and Tom Breen in the first game of the championship round, you'd figure it was going to take a doubleheader to decide the state title.

However, just as it has proved all tournament long, sometimes all it takes is a ton of speed and the right kind of aggressiveness to turn an off night at the plate into a runaway victory.

Norwalk used its lethal team speed to steal five bases and three runs in the bottom of the first inning and never took its foot off the gas pedal, sprinting to the state championship with a decisive 7-1 victory over upstart Stamford West in front of a partisan Norwalk crowd at Cubeta Stadium.

Stamford West, which played its way into the championship game with a 6-5 comeback victory over city rival Stamford East in the losers bracket finals Wednesday night, finished with a 7-4 advantage in hits. But Norwalk caused enough havoc on the bases, finishing with a staggering 11 steals while pushing four runs across the plate without swinging the bat, to make it a very unusual rout.

"We're very aggressive on the bases," Norwalk head coach Ron Delbene said. "Once we get on, we're not going to sit around waiting for a bunt or something like that. They're going to take the extra base any time they can. That's the way we did it from the start, so we figured, that's the way we're going to finish it."

Norwalk, which finished undefeated (4-0) in the tournament, will take its running start into the New England Regionals at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire. Norwalk, which has never won a Senior Babe Ruth state title before, will open against the Vermont state champions at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Without a doubt, it was Norwalk's legs, not its bats, that made it happen.

"Our speed is real important. We're not really a power-hitting team, but we're really good on the bases," said Chris Hines, who set the tone for the game by leading off the bottom of the first with a walk then stealing second and third and scoring on the first of four Stamford wild pitches. "Everybody, one through nine, can steal bases. And everyone on the bench, they're good too. So basically, everyone can steal."

Norwalk's victory was a testament to the importance of getting in the winners bracket and staying there. Norwalk was playing just its fourth game of the state tournament, getting a big day's rest after beating Stamford East 4-2 in the winners bracket final on Tuesday.

Stamford West was playing its sixth game in six days, including three coming out of the losers bracket following a 17-1 loss to Norwalk in the second round. That type of non-stop play put a strain on Stamford West's pitching staff and simply sapped the team of the strength needed to win a doubleheader.

"Being in the winners bracket, you get rested, your kids are rested," Stamford West head coach Henry Boyton said. "And I can't deny. When it's 90 degrees, my kids were bound to get tired. That's not an excuse, but certainly, it helps to be rested. It helps physically and mentally."

The difference showed on the mound in particular. Petrides, who went 2-0 in the tournament, looked sharp. He allowed seven hits, but walked just one and struck out five. He also worked himself out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, striking out Ross Cerbone to end the inning after singles by Artega (3-for-4) and Dom DeNicola and an infield error.

Artega, making his first appearance of the tournament, doing it with a strained hamstring suffered in the opening game, never really found command of the strike zone. Artega walked four batters in the first inning, allowing Norwalk to build a 3-0 lead without the benefit of a hit. He finished with six walks and four strikeouts while uncorking three wild pitches that produced runs.

"He hasn't pitched a lot of games, but I felt comfortable with him out there," Boyton said. "If his hamstring held up, I don't want to say we would have had an advantage, but I think we would have been very well-equiped pitching-wise, and I think the scoreboard showed it."

Had Norwalk dropped the first game, it would have had to stay on the field and beat Stamford West again Thursday night. But Norwalk knew that wasn't going to be easy, especially with a pitching staff that isn't very deep once you get past Petrides and Mike Andino (2-0).

"That's what we were saying before the game. We wanted to get it over with in the first game," Petrides said. "When we got to the field, we wanted to make sure everyone was ready and focused because no one wanted to stay for a second game."

Norwalk put Petrides in a comfort zone right away with three runs in the first. Hines and Brian Jacoby led off with walks and Kenny O'Brien, coming off a season at Alfred State in New York, followed with a walk of his own one out later. Hines scored on a wild pitch, Jacoby scored on an RBI groundout by catcher Jon Barbarula and after Petrides walked, O'Brien scored on a double steal, crossing home before Petrides was tagged in the base line for the third out.

Norwalk produced a similar run in the second to take a 4-0 lead as Andino singled with two outs, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch, which came on a swinging third strike that allowed Hines to reach first.

Norwalk's win wasn't textbook by any means, but it was definitely effective.

"It was frustrating, but that's baseball," said Boyton of outhitting Norwalk but still losing. "The only statistic I care about is getting on base and scoring runs no matter how you do it, and Norwalk was a testament to that tonight. Get on first base any way you can, get to third and then score a run. They did that well tonight."

Norwalk also showed some muscle as shortstop Dom Franco blasted a solo home run off Artega with one out in the fourth to make it 5-0, ripping a line drive down the line that got out in a hurry. Stamford West made it 5-1 in the fifth on singles by Juan Peralta and Artega, but Norwalk scored twice in the bottom of the frame to extend its lead.

Jacoby led off with a walk and scored on an RBI triple by first baseman Korey Delbene, who made a number of nice stretches on high throws. Barbarula walked and was replaced by pinch-runner Luis Vega, who scored on a wild pitch after going first to third when Delbene was thrown out at home on a double-steal attempt.

Norwalk also received strong defensive play on the left side of the infield as Jack Culnane made a couple of highlight reel backhand stops and throws at third. Franco also made a number of difficult chances look easy.

"Jack only plays when Taso's pitching, but he's strong over there," Delbene said. "He battles and he's going to give you everything he's got. He had a bad back today, but he would not come out of the game. And Dominic's a tough kid. He doesn't usually let too much by."

Last summer, Norwalk put together one of its strongest Senior teams in recent history, but fell to Stamford in the state championship game. This group, the core of which has been together since the 13-year-old all-star level, just seems to have the type of chemistry that could carry it well into the summer.

"We all get along great. We have great chemistry," Hines said. "If we keep playing like we are right now, I think we have a shot at the World Series."